1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image data generation method, a structure formation method, a structure formation apparatus, and a program.
2. Description of the Related Art
As one of the structure formation techniques, a technique of printing, in black ink or toner, a desired pattern on a print medium including an expanding layer that expands by heating and then irradiating the print medium uniformly with light is known. This technique utilizes the property that a region printed in black ink or toner has higher light absorptivity than a region not printed in black ink or toner and, as a result of absorbed light being converted into heat, the region printed in black ink or toner is heated to high temperature and thus expands and rises. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-171317 describes a three-dimensional printer using this technique.
A structure in which the surface of the print medium rises outward in the thickness direction can not only provide visual information but also provide tactile information to a person who touches the structure. Therefore, the aforementioned structure formation technique for forming a structure using printing technology is widely expected to be used in fields such as braille and tactile graphics. The structure formation technique has, however, the following problem: a structure formed by the technique is relatively not sharp in its cross-sectional shape, and so is relatively hard to be perceived by the sense of touch.
In view of such circumstances, the present invention has an object of providing an image data generation method, structure formation method, structure formation apparatus, and program that can form a structure relatively easy to be perceived by the sense of touch.